Metrum Acoustics Octave

[ohhgourami]

My amp still hasn't come yet...USPS is taking a ridiculously long time.  6 working days and can't get a package from AZ to CA?!

 

[bobeau]

Quote:

All things considerd. Do you still have a yearning for the "Classic" NOS sound?

Good question.  While I haven't been listening to the Ack, I do have an HM-601.  I dig it.  But it definitely is a lower-fidelity, more euphonic experience that I will do for an hour or two at a time.  I find my desktop setup to be more immersive for hours-on-end listening.  Earlier issues w/ treble or whatnot are long gone... probably have at least 300-400 hours on the whole setup now.  
 

 

[bobeau]

Guys,
 
Still loving my Octave, blown away by my system overall.  Every morning I put my headphones on I'm pretty much wowed.  And these are only Edition 8s... eventually my Thunderpants will arrive, and perhaps things will step up a bit (or not?).
 
In any case there hasn't been much discussion from dissenters or whatnot, and some of these have hit the classifieds on Audiogon and over at the Aussie site where they've become really popular.  
 
For those thinking about it, waiting for theirs to arrive, or looking to pick up one used I highly suggest checking out the stereo.net.au thread on this, which has impressions from many owners, those who have resold, etc.  It has 728 posts as of this moment:
 
http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/showthread.php/38534-Metrum-Otctave-Has-Arrivred-WOW

 

[Sganzerla]

 I tried to buy this item but unfortunately the seller did not agree to mark item with a lower value, which I can understand.
 Unfortunately if I buy with the full price declared, I'll have to pay more than 100% of the product value in taxes, so I'm now looking for alternatives.

 

[bobeau]

I don't know where you are, but being in the states it was shipped by public courier (ie. arrived USPS).  No fees.

 

[Sganzerla]

 I'm in Brazil. With or without courier services, the differences in tax value are small, unfortunately.

 

[BrainFood]

Quote:

I don't know where you are, but being in the states it was shipped by public courier (ie. arrived USPS).  No fees.

 
Damn, you are lucky.  In the EU, we don't pay import fees if it comes from within the EU, but Metrum Acoustics add on 19% tax themselves.

 

[Szadzik]

 
Quote:

Damn, you are lucky.  In the EU, we don't pay import fees if it comes from within the EU, but Metrum Acoustics add on 19% tax themselves.

Just noticed that thank to your post .
 
Will probably order this one anyway.
 

 

[bobeau]

 
Quote:

Damn, you are lucky.  In the EU, we don't pay import fees if it comes from within the EU, but Metrum Acoustics add on 19% tax themselves.

There were still some fees though... in the end it was about 11-12% due to paypal/conversion/shipping.  I paid $1060 usd total.

 

[FSonicSmith]

I am very interested in this DAC but find the manufacturers site to be very confusing. What is the "quad"? Is there a discount if you order the DAC and power supply bundled? I must be dense, but I don't understand the ordering options at all. Perhaps someone can simply tell me which to order to get the same set-up recommended by 6Moons with the May Audio USB device?

 

[halcyon]

Do I understand this right: neither Quad or Octave can lock onto 192kHz/24bit signals via S/PDIF or Toslink?
 
I was looking at this as an inexpensive hi-res upgrade for Squeezebox, but the lack of support for 192kHz/24 - while not a deal breaker - is something causing me to pause.
 
After all, there are other options, although not at this price range for within EU shoppers.
 
 

 

[DeadBeats]

Now people pick the dacs by looking if its 24 bits 192khz and usb. If doesn't then its an old dac not worth it. Dacs are much more than that ..
 
How many 192 material do you have in first place ?
After 96khz you stop to have benefit from it and in fact the signal gets deteriorate.
Have you ever compared 192khz to 96khz ? I did and couldn't tell the difference.
 
This is really a good way of dismissing a good quality dac and go for worse implemented dacs with the fancy attention whore specs.
Quote:

Do I understand this right: neither Quad or Octave can lock onto 192kHz/24bit signals via S/PDIF or Toslink?
 
I was looking at this as an inexpensive hi-res upgrade for Squeezebox, but the lack of support for 192kHz/24 - while not a deal breaker - is something causing me to pause.
 
After all, there are other options, although not at this price range for within EU shoppers.
 
 

 

 

[kdoot]

Enjoyable thread, guys. I'm one of the Metrum owners from the Aussie forum and was just googling around to see how this DAC was faring on the net. 
 
I'm one of the lucky ones whose Octave goes all the way to 192kHz with my AP2. I only have a few tracks at that resolution... but oh god they sound amazing. 2L from Norway offer some wonderful music that way. 
 
The magic number really is 176.4 though, because that's 4 x 44.1. The bulk of our music libraries are CD audio, and a good software upsampler running at 4x is the way to get them sounding their best on a Metrum. I've tried a bunch (mostly on Mac) and following a suggestion from the xxhighend guy am presently listening to Audirvana Plus using OSX's Core Audio SRC. 

 

[Szadzik]

 
Quote:

Enjoyable thread, guys. I'm one of the Metrum owners from the Aussie forum and was just googling around to see how this DAC was faring on the net. 
 
I'm one of the lucky ones whose Octave goes all the way to 192kHz with my AP2. I only have a few tracks at that resolution... but oh god they sound amazing. 2L from Norway offer some wonderful music that way. 
 
 

 
Does that mean that some units go up to 192 and some do not? How do you find the Ocave with AP2? I just purchased the Octave and will be listening to it in a few weeks when I get back home and am thinking about adding a USB>SPDIF converter - especially AP2.
 
Quote:

The magic number really is 176.4 though, because that's 4 x 44.1. The bulk of our music libraries are CD audio, and a good software upsampler running at 4x is the way to get them sounding their best on a Metrum. I've tried a bunch (mostly on Mac) and following a suggestion from the xxhighend guy am presently listening to Audirvana Plus using OSX's Core Audio SRC. 

 
I thought the same. 90% of my music is 44.1 and hence I do not really care much about 192, 176.4 is more important. I will be using Foobar with a SoX based resampler hoping it will sound good on the Octave.

 

[FSonicSmith]

My last post went unanswered, though in time I figured it out myself (as to which of the models on the Metrum site you are referring to).
But now I need some more help. I have a Classe CDP.5 cd player-12 years old. I can't believe it still works-but for now it is my transport/player. It has AES/SBU as it's only digital out.
I like my pre-amp-an Audioprism Mantissa-and have no inclination to bypass it and run straight into my amp.
So, if I settle on the Metrum as my new DAC, is it correct that it's 2.0 volt output is compatable with going into my pre-amp?
And secondly, is the Stella U3 my best bet to convert AES out to S/PDIF in for the Metrum in your opinion? Any help appreciated!